Investigators say Hung signed a contract to sell four containers of black pepper to the Lybia Company in Egypt for US$669,600 at a time when he couldn't fill the order.

Hung allegedly forged a number of documents to win the trust of the Egyptian company, which sent him a $348,300 deposit.

Hung allegedly used the money to pay off his company’s debts without exporting anything, police say.

After several months, Hung bought a shipping container full of black pepper for $174,150 and sent it to the buyer.

Lybia Company then filed a lawsuit against Vinamex at Vietnam's Embassy in Egypt.

Hung earned a degree in foreign trade at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and founded his company in 2007 with a registered capital of VND900 million ($42,300).

Based in Vinh, the provincial capitol, the company obtained licenses to operate in the following fields: trading agricultural products, fish, fertilizer, electronics, furniture, automobiles, motorbikes, construction machinery and services, irrigation, tourism, and hotel and restaurant management.